London Calling

After a long day of travel, I think it's about time to kick off a blog for my new adventure - Europe! My journey began at four in the morning after two hours sleep. I drove the rental car I had picked up the night before to the airport and headed through security. My first flight was a short hop from Philadelphia to Newark on a tiny 36-seater turboprop plane. It went quickly, as I was asleep for the majority.

The second flight of the day was more of a doozy. Oddly enough, it was a fairly small plane for an international trip, a Boeing 757, but it had a nice OnDemand entertainment system. I didn't sleep much, instead opting to watch several episodes of Parks & Recreation and Curb Your Enthusiasm. We landed a little before 2100 GMT, but customs and immigration took an additional hour beyond that. After exiting the terminal finally, I only had to wait five minutes at the coffee shop before Dana showed up! She was a sight for sore eyes, most definitely.

Dana led me down to the famous tube, the London Underground. From there, we undertook the medium-length train ride to her flat. It was quite a nice little place, and Dana's roommate Megan was very friendly and excited to hear about my trip to Japan. I handed out a few gifts and we were off again, this time to head to the hotel and get checked in. We stopped by a KFC for a quick snack before undertaking the thirty-minute walking journey to the Olympia Hilton Hotel. Our room is pretty nice, though nothing wonderful, I suppose. Only staying here for one night this time, though!

Anyway, tomorrow: Paris! We're taking the Eurostar down to the City of Lights to spend the weekend. It's going to be amazing. Stay tuned!

Sunny Faces, Sunny Places

So, since I'm in the mood for finding destinations and things to see, and I'm going to Florida in about two days, why not one for there, too? Obviously there's less to see than most places, considering sanitized tourism took over the areas long ago, but there are still some gems left over!

First of all, a call back to a time without Disney's stranglehold on the region: The Citrus Tower. The tower is over 200 feet high, and when it was built in the mid-50's offered a stunningly beautiful view of the pristine orange groves in the area. Most of the groves are gone now, but the tower still stands to show off the development in the area. Eight counties are visible from the top. The tower is open from 9-5 Monday through Thursday, and costs $4 per person for the view. The Citrus Tower can be found at: 141 North Hwy 27, Clermont, Florida 34711.

The Monument of States serves as another old school attraction in the area. The Monument features a stone from every state in the union, a collection first begun in 1942 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The monument has stood since then in Kissimmee, topped with a model of the world and a bald eagle, and surrounded with stones from various world locations. It's free to see and open during the daylight hours. The Monument is located at: 300 East Monument Ave., Kissimmee, FL.

Next up is the Bok Singing Tower and Gardens. The rock tower opened in 1929 and features 57 bells of differing pitch. The tower is said to be pretty impressive, and the bells toll and play frequently. Also in the area is a nice garden with lots of local flora to entertain yourself while you wait for the music to play. The garden is open from 8 - 6 daily and is free. The tower is located at: 1151 Tower Blvd., Lake Wales, FL.

For all the lovers of giant statues built for the sole purpose of advertising stupid things (aka me), there's a giant golf ball on a tee in Kissimmee. Definitely pretty great. It's an advertisement for a mini golf course. Located at: US Hwy 192, south side at Florida Plaza Blvd.

In 1993, a theme park opened in the already theme park-saturated area of central Florida. This park was called Splendid China, and featured rides and performances based on this theme. Included was the rotating cast of acrobats visiting directly from mainland China - many of whom fled the park and applied for asylum in the United States. After the closure of the park in 2003, the property changed hands several times, and the park was finally destroyed for good in 2011. All that remains is a Winn-Dixie Supermarket filled to the brim with kitschy Chinese memorabilia fit for a theme park. The supermarket is open until 11pm most days and is located at: Formosa Gardens Blvd., Kissimmee, FL.

Finally, there's Celebration, Florida. Most recognize Celebration as the Disney planned "community of the future," and others were reminded of existence when the town of about 7,000 experienced its first murder a couple years back. The whole thing gives me a weird "Stepford Wives" kind of feeling that makes it irresistible to at least drive through.

Anyway, there are a few other interesting things to see, it seems, but quite a bit of driving away from where I'll be staying. If any of them seem a bit more enticing, however, I'll definitely be posting them here.

Coming Attractions: Paris

The day after I arrive in the lovely city of London, Dana and I hop a Eurostar train midway through the day and head in the direction of France. We're staying for a weekend in Paris (just missing Valentine's Day by two or three days!) and I'm compiling a list of things that could possibly be interesting. First of all, to get them out of the way, some of the more obvious ones:

- The Eiffel Tower (48.8583N, 2.2945E) How original. Built in 1889 for the World's Fair, it's Paris (and for that matter, France's) most famous landmark.

- The Arc de Triomphe (48.8738N, 2.2950E) Also very original. Commissioned by Napoleon and finished in the 19th century, it was the largest arch in the world until a knock-off was constructed recently in Pyongyang.
- The Louvre (48.8620N, 2.333686E) The most-visited art museum in the world. Contains the Venus de Milo, the Mona Lisa, and so many more iconic works of art. It originally opened near the turn of the 19th century.
- Parisian Catacombs (48.8337N, 2.3322E) The catacombs of Paris hold the remains of approximately six million people who perished in the 12th century and onward.
- Musée des Arts et Métiers (48.8658N, 2.3554E) Parisian museum of arts and crafts. Specifically, the Foucault Pendulum, which was the first experimental proof that the earth rotated.

Now, a few from the depths of Atlas Obscura:

- Fragonard Museum (48.8127N, 2.4221E) One of the oldest museums in Paris, opened in 1766, which is quite similar to Philadelphia's Mutter. Made up of the collections of Honore Fragonard, a physician who was declared a madmen for his flayed figures and displays of pathology.
- The "I Love You" Wall (48.8847N, 2.3388E) A 400+ square foot wall covered in lava tiles that each bear the words "I love you" in a different language.
- Arènes de Lutèce (48.8450N, 2.3527E) The remains of a Roman amphitheater inside Paris proper. Said amphitheater played host to the gladiatorial and animal fights that Rome was famous for. Since its rediscovery, it has been restored, the 17,000-person and 2,000-year-old piece of history standing as a marker of the city's past.
- Musee de Plans-Reliefs (48.8546N, 2.3124E) Starting from as far back as 1668, the French monarchy created over a hundred models of various cities a territories that were used by military planners.
- The Room of Endangered and Extinct Species (48.8433N, 2.3637E) Part of the Grand Gallery of Evolution, this room showcases over two hundred animal species that have been pushed to the brink of or past the brink of extinction over the years.
- Mini-Paris (48.7772N ,1.9634E) A miniature model of Paris meticulously built over twenty years by a single man.
- Pomze Paris (48.8750N, 2.3169E) A restaurant that resembles an Iron Chef competition with the special ingredient "apples." Over 120 apple-inspired dishes. Features the motto of "Let yourself be tempted and enter the world of apples."

Enter: Japan!

Hello, friends!

So as many of you know (many of you being one), I am currently in Japan. I arrived on Tuesday and had my first day of work on the base today. I'll hopefully be mindful enough to catalog my adventures here extensively!

So, first of all, my flight connected through Chicago, so the road to Japan was rough. The thirteen hour flight wasn't all that bad - I watched two movies, got a good night's sleep, and listened to a couple podcasts, but it was still pretty grating toward the end. Anyway, after landing, our crew went through customs and immigration, and caught the "YCAT" bus from Narita to Yokohama. After that, check in was fairly painless, and after the necessary shower dropping my stuff off, I went out to eat with the coworkers. I had a beef-and-potato coquette, nothing fancy, as I wasn't really that hungry.

Wednesday was open for us to just rest and get our bearings in the new time zone. I took the opportunity to exchange $200 more into yen and get a few things in order. After that, I was eager to explore the area. Underneath the hotel is a large mall-ish subway called The Diamond. There's pretty much everything you could ever need there - fashion shops, restaurants, convenience stores, and of course a KFC. It's pretty easy to get lost down there, but after a couple hours of wandering, I'm managing quite well.

That evening, I headed outside to look around, and stumbled upon a crazy little area of town that had more arcades than I've ever seen in my life. Neon signs abound, I wandered into a land of video games, pachinko, and weird anime signs. It was daunting, and all I could do was stumble around as people shuffled by me, probably making fun of me in their native tongue. Either way, it was a great experience! I even purchased something from one of the odd looking vending machine - a tiny bottle of lemon soda that set me back Y120.

Today, work was filled with walking, something that did not go well with the fact that I had purchased (but never worn) my new pair of steel toed shoes. Lots of blisters, but hey, it's an excuse to soak in a tub a few times.

I spoke with Tom today about traveling up and seeing him in the coming weeks, and he'd recommended to me in the past about getting a JR East pass. This pass essentially allows one unlimited travel up and down the east portion of Japan (the majority of the main Honshu island) for about $208 at current exchange rates. Of course, it's never that easy!

I first headed down to the Yokohama Train Station and spoke with the tourist information counter. She was friendly, as everyone is here, and directed me across to the ticketing office. I headed over there, and the very friendly man inside directed me to the office next door - after looking a little panicked and heading behind a curtain for a good three minutes. After going next door, it appeared that the ladies there knew what I was talking about! The language barrier was cumbersome (they seemed to not understand why I gave them my travel itinerary until late in the transaction), but everything worked out. I am the proud owner of a 4 day flexible JR East pass!

Schedule for Week Ending 12/31

Monday - HOLIDAY (8 hours)
Tuesday - 10:00 to 18:00 (16 hours)
Wednesday - 07:30 to 16:00 (24.5 hours)
Thursday - 07:30 to 16:00 (33 hours)
Friday - 10:00 to 17:00 (40 hours)

Schedule for Week Ending 12/18

Monday - 12:00 to 18:00 (6 hours)
Tuesday - 13:00 to 24:00 (17 hours)
Wednesday - 12:00 to 18:00 (23 hours)
Thursday - 13:00 to 24:00 (34 hours)
Friday - 14:00 to 20:00 (40 hours)

Schedule for Week Ending 11/18

Monday - 08:00 to 16:00 (8 hours)
Tuesday - 16:00 to 24:00 (16 hours)
Wednesday - 00:00 to 04:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 (24 hours)
Thursday - 14:00 to 24:00 (34 hours)
Friday - 00:00 to 04:00 (38 hours)

I can't be arsed to figure out where the other two hours are coming from so let's just say V for two hours. :|